All too often, we see Dia 2 appearing. (One of our stronger 2 dans
did it twice in a recent tournament game, which is what prompted this
article). The player with the white stones feels pleased to have got in
a good kikashi with 1. Actually, though, white 1 is awful - he should
just play 1 in Dia 3. This is not sente - If he tries to save the corner
stone Dia 4 is the best bet but it leaves White with two eyeless groups
which will be difficult to look after.

Firstly, consider the case where Black plays elsewhere - White can
choose Dia 5, in which White 1 is clearly better placed than in Dia 2
but the result is otherwise the same, or, depending upon the
circumstances, he could play 1 at A, B, C or D - now you begin to see
the virtues of leaving the aji alone - the choice of so many plays all
of which are sente gives white enormous power in the area.

Next, consider the case where Black decides to answer White after
Dia 3 - Dia 6 seems to be about all he has, but after exchanging 1 for 2
he is pretty well forced to play 3 as well (as a general rule, when
pushing along the second line you should not stop as soon as your stones
are alive, but add one more to stop the opponent from blocking in
sente). The result of Dia 6 is a disaster for Black. White's cutting
stone is still causing trouble - White can play A in sente - and Black's
gain in the corner is negligible beside the growth of White's wall.

This position is an example of a pattern which arises quite
frequently. Dias 7 and 8 show two examples from joseki (in Dia 7, Black
1 is necessary to gain time - White could play A if Black started with
3). In each case note how Black's initial atari stone is treated
lightly, and how difficult it is for White to deal efficiently with the
resulting position.

This article is from the
British Go Journal
Issue 54[1]
which is one of a series[2] of back issues now available on the web.

Last updated Fri Jan 04 2013. If you have any comments, please email the webmaster on web-master AT britgo DOT org.